#109 dining with a view: Wild Jordan cafe

When i travel and visit new places, exploring cafes and dining places is one of the most exciting things. Though hotel where i stayed (Toledo hotel, highly recommend it) offered great variety of local cuisine, I just had to check what Amman has to offer. For vegetarian and non-vegetarian people, but who value quality, organic food, Jordan wild cafe is a must-visit place.

Well, first of all, before i even sat at the table, i was amazed by the beautiful scenery and the city view and got stuck on the terrace for a while as i enjoyed the view. The cafe located on several floors has probably one of the most stunning views over the city.

Wild Cafe in essence is a an arm of a social enterprise which uses only locally produced products and prepares healthy, low-fat meals including also various local herbal teas and awesome smoothies.

So, finding a place with beautiful scenery and healthy, tasty food – that’s a bliss.

Price: for a salad, tea and smoothie – about 10GBP/10JOD.

Duration: 2 hours (they have there free wi-fi and interesting shop with handmade things made in Jordan (Death sea mud soaps!!);

Amazingness: definitely one of the must-visit places when in Amman;

May 9, 2014

 

#74 getting the most delicious bread from home

Whenever somebody from Latvia visits me in London, all i ask them is – just bring me a loaf of dark rye bread. Or two. And, not just any kind, but specific Kelmeni dark rye bread, which individually is signed off on its label by the bread baker. Latvian dark rye bread is much darker than Lithuanian dark bread and any dark bread i have seen in Scandinavia. Kelmeni dark bread i can recognize by its smell. It’s awesome. Some people find it too heavy, but i say – it’s nutritious, healthier than white bread and yes – two slices of bread with cheese, ham, tomatoes or whatever is your preference you have had a meal. It’s not a side or for snacking. It’s food.

Friends who visited me this week brought, of course, me this Kelmeni bread and also as a bonus – so called ‘Festival bread’ (made by Lielezers): dark bread with dried fruits and nuts. This is my the second most missed food stuff from Latvia. If you spread a slice of this Festival bread with honey and take with coffee or tea, it tastes absolutely heavenly.

So, if you ever have a chance, try these ‘gems’ from Latvia. You wont find anywhere anything similar to these.

Price: Kelmeni dark rye bread – about 2.50GBP a loaf, Festival bread – about 4-5GBP per loaf.

Amazingness: absolute deliciousness;

Duration: unfortunately these do not last long.

March 28, 2014

 

 

#54 experimenting in the kitchen – pumpkin and persimmon cake

Have you ever tasted a pumpkin and persimmon cake before? Until today I had not, but when i was doing my regular shopping this morning in the market, i saw this piece of bright orange pumpkin and then persimmons, and just thought – they should go together well in a cake!

So, i just experimented: I got about 450g grated pumpkin, 5-6 small persimmons, 2 eggs, a bit of maple syrup (replacement of sugar), cinnamon, generous dose of pumpkin seeds (about 200g i think), linseed, rye flour (about 300g), baking powder and that’s it. I baked for about 80 minutes in 180C temperature. It was crispy outside and soft/ creamy inside. If you like pumpkin and persimmon, you will like this cake. And, it’s so healthy.

Out of interest, just now i googled to find out if i am a true innovator, and apparently not. Somebody has done this before. Surprisingly, the recipe I found is almost identical (ingredients are almost 100% the same, but baking process is different), so in a way i have reinvented a wheel. 🙂

But, the lesson is – let your imagination freedom. It’s adventurous and amazing. And experiments, if nothing else, are simply interesting and fun!

Price: about 3-4GBP;

Amazingness: better than i expected;

Duration: baking about 2 hours overall.

March 1, 2014

 

#18 bake a cake

Baking is fun. Baking is therapeutic. Baking is adventure, experimentation and improvisation.

I rarely follow the recipe for 100%. I tend to replace some ingredients or play with proportions.

As we are still in the New years resolutions mood (eating better and healthier, losing weight, decreasing sugar etc), I did exactly that – tried to bake a healthy, guilt-free cake.

I started with this recipe, but ended up using only rye flour, honey was replaced with maple syrup, i added loads of sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds (protein shot for vegetarians!), water was replaced with semi-skimmed milk, and portion of oil and (brown) sugar was significantly reduced.

If you are not convinced why one should use rye flour instead of white flour, here is quite detailed comparison of both in terms of their nutrition value. But, to sum up in 5 words – rye flour is much healthier!

Result tastes extremely good and healthy!

Price: about 4GBP;

Duration: unfortunately, this one will not last too long

Amazingness: great

January 17, 2014